The Globalization of the NFL

 As much as the NFL would like to claim they are a non-profit organization, it has become exceptionally clear the NFL operates in a way where money is power. In order to expand the already billion dollar organization, the NFL is looking to bring the sport of football to London. A city primarily dominated by soccer, cricket, rowing and rugby, they believe London would be great opportunity to increase and maximize the NFL's source of revenue. Looking to follow the model of the Premiere League, the NFL is looking to have a larger, more international presents. While it is obvious to see why the NFL would want to move team a team to Europe, there is a lot of barriers preventing them from doing so.

For starters, American football, while sharing similar traits with rugby, is completely different than any sport Londers are used to. To top that off, football is not exactly a game that is easy to catch onto. For example, someone could watch a soccer game for a minute, and easily pick up on some of the rules and tactics of play, however if someone were to watch football for a minute, there is a chance that they may not even see a single play. The time different between London and the United States is large enough that, many Europeans are asleep when American football is on the air, giving them the little necessary exposure it were to need if it were to be able to compete with Europe's other top sports.

Alongside the time different, running an NFL team in another country in itself presents a challenge in itself. While London truly is a wonderful city, with beautiful sights, great food and vibrant people, there is the challenge of having to trade players, not just over state lines, but country lines. In addition, transporting people to and from the London team would take a half day in itself. Plus, the sport culture in London is completely different of that from the United States. While American sports surround violence and winning, European sports are about tactic and sportsmanship. This would pose a huge barrier in the assimilation of American Sport culture.

Having visited London, and the NFL headquarters two years ago, it was really interesting to see the combination of the two cultures. However, I believe that the cultures maybe too different, and the barriers too large for the sport to ever become as big in Europe as it is in London.

Sport in the Ancient World

    The Olympics have been around longer than Jesus Christ, being held every hour years since 776 B.C. However, unlike the ceremonies, and traditions we are used to today, the Ancient Greeks and Romans treated the Olympics in a much different way. For starters, the only participants were males of Roman and Greek decent. In Ancient Greece, to compete men first had to swear an oath to Zeus that they had been training hard for at least ten months and were ready and willing to put in an extra month of work in order to compete. There were strict rules laid down, such as athletes had to compete in the outfit of God, naked covered in yellow powder to honor their bodies and the bodies of their Gods. Athletes were a serious business, and treated like Gods. Irregardless of one's background, anyone could be an athlete, in fact it could become a lucrative profession.

  During the Ancient Greek Olympics there was a strong sense of tradition, ritual and ceremony. The only woman allowed to enter the stadium was Zeus' sister, a gesture to assure they would not be offended, since the stadium was located right next to their house. Unlike the Olympics today, the Ancient Olympics only consisted of fighting and sprinting, sports that required speed, strength and skill. The Olympics held a lot of religious tensions, since it was believed that whoever won the competition was said to be favored by the Gods.

 Much like the Ancient Greek Olympics, Ancient Roman  gladiators were seen in a godly light as well. They were treated like caged performing animals, hundred of gladiators lived in barrocks and trained intensely every day. They received savaged beatings and were fed high energy food, the  gladiators would have to fight and win in order to free themselves from these barrocks. Much like athletes today,  gladiators wore unique uniforms when competing, however, no one was allowed to be fully protecting, always having to expose one weakness. It was the job of the other  gladiators to identify these weaknesses, and fight to the death. Each time a Gladiator entered the coliseum, he had a 1 in 6 chance of dying. Those who won lots of battles acclaimed celebrity status.

  Much like in the ancient times, athletes today are seen as celebrities, and in some cultures they are even viewed as godlike. They go off to training facilities, but in better condition, and participate in a handful of more events, with a lot more variety. However, the Olympics still puts a focus on speed, strength and skill. While the Olympics is now open to men and woman of all nationalities, and they no longer compete naked, the Olympics still serves as a source of entertainment for spectators. But, perhaps the biggest difference of all is that, no one is fighting to the death, just for honor and pride for themselves, and the country they represent.



References:
"Ancient Olympia Part 1. " Youtube. Youtube, n.d. Wed 26 Jan. 2015
"Ancient Olympia Part 2." Youtube. Youtube, n.d. Web. 26 Jan 2015
"Gladiator Training." Youtube. Youtube, n.d. Wed. 26 Jan 2015.

Sport, Society & Me

According to Eitzen, there are five paradoxes are sport that make it significant in U.S. Society. These Paradox's outlined in his 2006 book, Fair and Foul: Beyond the Myth and Paradoxes of Sport  are as follows:

1. Sport, a seemingly trivial pursuit, is important. It mirrors the human experience
2. Sport mirrors society in other profound ways, it shares with the larger society the basic elements and expressions of bureaucracy, commercialization, racism, sexism, homophobia, greed, exploration of the powerful over the powerless, alienation and ethnocentrism. American sport embodies American values
3. Sport combines spectacle with drama, excellence and clarity
4. Sport is transcendent
5. There is the human desire to identify with something greater than oneself. 

The importance of sport in today's society can be summed up by the fact that more people watch the Super Bowl nationally, than vote in presidential elections. But, America's infatuation with sport doesn't stop there. American athletes are not only among the best paid professionals in the country, but most widely recognized, often as heroes and role models.  

Perhaps the most accurate paradox made by Eitzen is his fifth point, that there is the human desire to identify with something greater than oneself. For fans, this means dressing up in their team's colors, attending games, yelling profanities at the other team, and bonding with those who share the same allegiance. Fans identify themselves as part of the team by using phrases such as "Did you see how we did last night?", or " We're going to the championship!". For athletes, this is being an individual playing for a team, working and scarfing together to reach a common goal. Sport is the at the heart of many conversations, reading material, leisure activity, and discretionary spending. Humans instinctively want to feel apart of something bigger than oneself, and sport is a means for humans to do so. 

As an athlete, a fan and a sport management major, sports consumes a large part of my life. It is something I do recreationally and competitively. It is something I watch for entertainment and leisurely discuss with friends. It is the subject which I choose the study, and will (hopefully) eventually become a part of my future career (fingers crossed for the second semester senior over here). As an athlete,  I've competed in basketball, volleyball, bowling, track and field, cross country and ice hockey. But above all, my heart always belonged in the water. I started competitive swimming when I was 6 and didn't stop until I was 18.  I had always identified myself as a swimmer, it was a key part of my identify and dictated many different aspects of my life. In high school,  I joined our school's water polo team and firmly believe that the experiences I shared with teammates and coaches in the water have shaped me into who I am today. Our coach groomed us to have certain values, respect one another, and love each other like family, because we all shared these ideals instilled in us from our coach, we remain good friends today and will for a long more time to go.

While always a quick swimmer, when my water polo coach passed away my senior year of high school, I decided that I would want to continue to play water polo in college, despite getting more swimming scholarships (I even scored a couple of bowling scholarships too, bet you didn't even know those existed). My small size doesn't make me the ideal water polo player, but I've definitely had a lot of passion. Unfortunately passion can only go so far when you have a coach from hell ( shout out if you know who she is), and a bum shoulder. The combination of the two lead to an unfortunate end of my competitive water polo career, but has allowed me to find new joy in open water swimming, hiking and yoga.

Because sports has been a huge part of my life, I believe that the lessons I've learned from competing, and the values instilled within me from my coaches will continue to affect the decisions I make long after my last race.

References
Eitzen, D.S (2006). Fair and Foul: Beyond the Myths and Paradoxes of Sport (2nd Ed.). Oxford, Rowman & Littlefield: Chapter 1

Sport in the USA: Values, Ideologies & Practices

The United States has a billion dollar sporting industry that is surrounded around a wide variety of sports played at a recreational, elementary, high school, collegiate and professional level. Sports are played, coached and officiated by both males and females, however professional sport in the United States is dominated by males. With sports ranging from technical, to physical and endurance, there is a huge market for sporting goods and merchandise in the United States. At the top of the market are America's big four sporting leagues: the National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). To American sport fanatics, sports and their specific home team play a huge part in their identity. Fans go to great lengths to show their support for their team, which can be seen through merchandise purchases, attendance at games, and support of ones team through social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. This has allowed the big four conferences to bring in over $400 billion worth of revenue each year. 

In America, the NFL receives the most attention from fans and media. The Super Bowl, the championship game surrounding the NFL has consistently been the most watched television event in America ( so much so, that sponsors are willing to pay upwards $3 million for a 30-second commercial during the event). However with increasing evidence relating football to early on-set demensia and long term brain damage, the NFL is receiving heavy criticism, and many parents are hesitant to allow their children to start playing football. Ice hockey, football and basketball are all games that require physical activity and stamina. Dominated mostly by white and African American (with the exception of ice hockey) muscular males, these sports are enjoyed for their violence and fast paced action. While these three sports receive a lot of attention in the United States, baseball claims the title of America’s passed time. While its participants are not necessarily as muscular as those who play ice hockey, football or basketball, baseball requires a great deal of mental strategy. Many professionals have been perfecting their game since they were toddlers, which has allowed America to perform exceptionally well on the international stage, such as at the Olympics games.

Though dominated by the big four, American’s of all ages have found and continue to find joy in different types of sports – on and off of land, with and without balls, some with protective equiptment, others with out, sports that require pure physical strength, and others that require mental stamina. Swimming is the most popular sport among children, however almost any game with a set of rules and organized competition has a competitive league in the United States. The vast majority of American sports require one to outscore their opponent in some aspect to claim the win. Toward the end of the select season, the teams that have accumulated the most wins compete in a tournament. These mega events often attract a lot of attention from fans and media, and include an ultimate grand prize. For example, players in the NHL work toward earning the Stanley Cup, while players in the NFL work towards winning the Super Bowl. Every athlete who plays and is passionate about their sport has dreams and aspirations to win their championship, for those who have it is a defining moment in ones life.

American athletes are obsessed with winning championships and becoming the best in their field. Big name athletes such as LeBron James for basketball and Sidney Crosby for ice hockey are seen as hero and role models. Because of the way American's view sports, athletes and how they value winning, success in sports is often determined by one's performance both on and off the court. Due to the popularity and insane paychecks these athletes receive, athletes are treated as celebrities, which unfortunately means they are constantly surrounded by paparazzi, and live lavish lifestyles. However, for athletes who do not play professional, or who do not wish to obtain this celebrity status, sports is a fun way to socialize, stay in shape or simply do something you love. 

In America, there are a series of sports ethics that are understood and respecting throughout the sporting community. In 1991, Hughes and Coakley determined there were four factors of ones identity that proves he/she is a "real" athlete. These sports ethics are as follows:

         1. Being an athlete involves making sacrifices for the game

2. Striving for distinction among other athletes

3. Accepts risks and plays through the pain

4. Refuses to accept limits in the pursuit of possibilities

Many athletes inherently follow these dimensions based on the way they were groomed to play their selected sport. Like I had stated previously, sport becomes part of ones identity, and based on this athletes conform to these believes as a life style. I was a competitive swimmer for 16 years, a competitive water polo player for 6 years and a competitive bowler for 4 years. From a very young age, I was told that I would have to make sacrifices for the sport that I loved, whether that be missing homecoming my junior year of high school, or having to wake up at 5:30 AM for six years straight. My freshman year of high school, my water polo coach had engraved on the pool deck " Great choices make for great consequences. Choose dedication, choose handwork, choose to improve each and everyday. Be passionate about your choices and true to the commitment required by them. By choosing thus you will have chose to be a champion." This was his own version of Sport Ethics. We were never taught to play through pain, or refuse to accept limits, nor were we ever told we would have to make sacrifices or not to get distracted by others, because it is something that had always been expected of us. My water polo coach passed away my senior year of high school, but his legacy and the intense passion he had for the sport are still apparent in every single one of his athletes he had coached in the passed 28 years. One torn rotator cuff, a miserable college experience, and three years later, many of the ethics that I have learned through sport are still relevant in my life today. 

References:

Hughes, Robert, and Jay Coakley. (1991). Positive Deviance Among Athletes: The Implications of Overconformity to the Sport Ethic. Sociology of Sport Journal, 8, 307-12.